Where Gol is and how to get there

Climate and nature

History

Trade and Industry

Education

The Municipality of Gol is centrally situated in Southern Norway and is a central point between the eastern and western regions of the country.

Where Gol is and how to get there

Gol lies in the Hallingdal valley in the County of Buskerud, 167 kms northwest of the city of Drammen. Travelling along the Highway No. 7, Gol is about 190 kms from Oslo and 290 kms from Bergen.
If you travel along the Highway No. 52, you can get to the western region of Norway through the longest road tunnel in the world, the Lærdalstunnelen (24.5 kms). The distance from Gol to Lærdal is 115 kms.
The route over to the neighbouring valley, Valdres, is by the Highway No. 51. The distance over to the regional centre of Valdres, Fagernes, is about 50 kms.

There is a railway station (now unstaffed) in Gol, at the Bergen railway. The trainjourney from/to Oslo takes about 2 hrs. and 45 mins. and just under 4 hours from/toBergen.

If you choose to go over to the western region by coach, there is an express coach route, the ”Sogn og Fjordane Express” between Oslo and Førde by Sogndal, which halts in Gol.

Climate and nature

Gol has a typical inland climate, with cold winters and warm summers. The
mountain plateau above the central part of Gol covers 530 km² and the altitudes of Gol varies between 180 m and 1295 m above the sea level.

Eastwards, towards Valdres, is the mountain plateau, Golsfjellet, with a lot of traditions. Tourist accomodations, huts and traditional mountain summer farm chalets have for a long time characterized this centre of mountain tourism in the upper part of the Buskerud county. The area is adapted for an active use of open air activities, with a good network of marked tracks, both for the summer- (walking) and winter- (cross-country skiing) seasons.

There are two preserved nature-reserves within the council-area: Lyseren Wetland Reserve, which is a complex of small lakes and tarns with marshland around, and Metubba Marsland Reserve, which is dominated by marslands of different types and contains some interesting plants and plant families.

History

The name Gol is derived off Gord, which for a period was the name of the river which runs through central Gol. The name means fence or barrier. The river created a natural divide and a barrier between the two sides of the valley.

It is uncertain when the first settlers came to live in Gol, however, it is fairly certain that by the the year 1000 AD, at least 26 farm settlements had been cleared and habitated (”Boka om Gol”, 1st volume).Traces of pits for catching animals and remains of iron slag at Golsfjellet do show
that the area has been used since a very early period of our history.

Gol stave church was in 1884 moved to Bygdøy in Oslo and formed a part of the start of the Norsk Folkemuseum. Today Gol has only the remains left of the burial ground where the stave church had been situated, but a replica of the stave church has been erected between the Highway No. 7 and the central area of Gol.

Trade and Industry

Gol is one of Norway’s most important boroughs for tourism and is the regional centre for commerce and service here in Hallingdal. The businesses related to service make up about 70%, while industry, production and distribution of hydroelectric power, building and civil engineering activities make up approximately 20% and agriculture and forestry employ about 10% of all the employees.

Education

The council area of Gol has covered the need for its own pre-school education. The offer is spread out on seven pre-school units and a privately run playgroup. The council do also run two infants schools and one junior school.

Gol Adult Education Centre offers basic school education, special needs education and education in the Norwegian language and about the Norwegian society, for foreigners.

Gol has also got a Sixth Form College (Gol vidaregåande skule) and a ”Folk High School” (Hallingdal folkehøgskule).